


Of Arms and Abandonment Issues

by SabbyStarlight



Series: Cold Open Challenge 2020! [3]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Broken Bones, Cold Open Challenge, Episode: s01e19 Compass, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jack Whump, mac angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:54:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25151197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SabbyStarlight/pseuds/SabbyStarlight
Summary: Day three of the Cold Open Challenge!1x19 CompasJack canonically broke his arm in this episode and I've never tagged it.  So I had to change that.
Series: Cold Open Challenge 2020! [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1818619
Comments: 18
Kudos: 51





	Of Arms and Abandonment Issues

**Author's Note:**

> I'm breaking the rules a little bit here, because today is supposed to start the Season Two tags. But my mind decided to only let me write for the first two seasons, not Season Three (probably because the lack of a certain someone in those cold opens leaves me a little uninspired) so you get three instead of two.

The four of them quickly made their escape, ducking around and under tree branches, boots slipping on soft soil. Mac leading the way, cutting what he was hoping was an untraceable path through the forest towards their exfil plane, and Jack bringing up the rear. His injured arm was tucked close to his chest, gun drawn and ready in his good hand, putting it and himself between anyone who could be following them and his kids.

Mac stopped them once they were far enough away from the compound to no longer hear the commotion from the explosion Riley had triggered, under the guise of taking a water break. Bozer and Riley weren’t as used to the hiking through rough terrain part of their job as Mac and Jack were, and they were grateful for the pause, finding a fallen log solid enough to sit on and sucking water from their canteens.

"How's the arm?" Mac made sure to keep his voice low enough that the conversation would be somewhat private, just the two of them able to hear the words exchanged.

"Fine." Jack's answer was clipped, and he didn't bother meeting Mac's eyes, too busy scanning the area for any sign of a threat.

"You want me to take a look at it?" Mac offered, knowing his partner was in pain and while it wasn't his fault, not exactly, Mac was still feeling guilty over it. He had been replaying the entire incident over and over in his mind as they hiked, berating himself at each tiny thing he could have done differently to change the end result. "It has to be hurting, I could rig up a sling, some sort of brace-"

"No," Jack cut him off suddenly and Mac couldn't quite mask the flinch at the harshness in the single syllable. "I’m fine. Drop it. Let's get going. Our exfil isn't gonna wait around on us all damn day."

“You sure?” Mac tried again. “It would only take a few minutes.”

“I said no, didn’t I?”

Mac swallowed, ignoring the cold chill that had washed over him at Jack's tone, and took a step backward. "Yeah," he nodded, thankful, though slightly shocked, that his voice was working at all. "Yeah, let's go."

Riley shot him a concerned glance as he marched past her and Bozer to resume his spot at the head of their little pack. He shook his head, silently asking her not to make a big deal out of what she had just seen. She agreed but was clearly unhappy with doing so. Any time Mac looked over his shoulder she was alternating between shooting angry glares and worried glances Jack's way.

He ignored all of them.

The rest of the hike was silent and uneventful, only the crunching of leaves underfoot and the occasional snap of a branch to alert anyone that they were there and luckily, there didn’t appear to be anyone around to hear them.

It wasn't until they were safe and, mostly, except for Jack's arm, sound on the plane that Bozer made his way to the seat Mac had claimed as his own for the flight home, one with a clear vantage point of his hurting partner but far enough away that Jack wouldn't feel like he was encroaching on his space, and shot Mac a displeased look. "Go check on him."

Mac shook his head. "You do it. He doesn't want me around. Not right now." The implied _maybe not ever_ hung heavy in the air between them, unspoken.

"Mac. He's hurting, not delusional. Of course he wants you around. A broken arm doesn't change that."

"You didn't see-"

"I see more than you give me credit for," Bozer interrupted him. "I always have. And you were on comms, so I might not have seen it happen but I heard the whole thing. Go check on him. He isn't blaming you, you're blaming you. And until he stops hurting so bad he can't see that himself, it's up to me to talk some sense into you."

Mac sighed, knowing Bozer was probably right even if he didn't want to admit it. Not just about Jack, but about him always underestimating just what his oldest friend knew. And he had already upset one friend, Mac wasn't about to lose another. Not in one day. Everyone might get tired of him and leave eventually, but even he had never chased two people off in only a few hours’ time and he wasn't about to try to start a new record.

Jack wasn't asleep, Mac could tell that much before he was even close to him, there was too much tension, pain evident, in his muscles, posture rigid. He hesitantly stepped closer, bracing himself for the moment Jack sent him away, refusing his help and his company, but it never came. Instead, Jack slowly cracked open one eyelid, investigating, and upon seeing that it was only Mac standing in front of him, pried both eyes open.

"Sorry, I won't bother you for the rest of the flight, I just... Bozer said..." He took a breath, collecting himself before getting the words out in a hurried breath. "I don’t want to annoy you or make things worse but Is there anything I can do? Other than leaving you alone?"

"You don’t gotta leave," Jack's forehead crumpled in a frown. "Why would you think that for? I've been sittin' here trying to work up the motivation to get back up so I can check on you. Sit down." Jack nodded at the seat beside him.

"You're..." Mac hesitated. Every instinct he had honed over the past several years of working with Jack as his overwatch was screaming at him to give in. To drop, relieved, beside his partner, and let things go back to normal. An older instinct though, one that he hadn't had to rely on in a long time, was louder and this one was insisting that he had messed up. Messed up the one good thing he had going for him and Jack didn't want him around any more than all the others who had walked into his life only to turn around and leave when he let them down. "I got you hurt. It's okay, you have every right to be upset, to not want me to try and help any more. Sorry. I just thought I should offer."

He turned to retreat back to his chair, head down, unable to focus his gaze on anything other than the grey carpet padding his footsteps, when a familiar hand on his wrist stopped him. He flinched as Jack pulled him around, a deeply ingrained reaction, preparing himself for the blow that was most definitely coming his way. When nothing happened, he looked up, confused, and met Jack's eyes, shocked to find nothing but sadness and concern there, no anger.

"I screwed up, didn't I?" Jack asked, voice barely more than a choked whisper and clearly more to himself than to Mac. "Sit down kid, I think you and me need to have a talk."

"You're not..." Mac hesitated, uncertain, wide blue eyes flitting between Jack's steady gaze and the empty seat next to him. "'There?"

Jack nodded, patting the seat in an invitation with his good arm, despite the way the movement sent shockwaves through the injured one. "I think an apology's in order," Jack began with a sigh once Mac had sat down, leaning on the armrest furthest from Jack, putting as much space between them as possible.

"I know," Mac cut in before Jack had a chance to organize his thoughts. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault and-"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Jack held up a protesting hand as he realized that the issues ran far deeper than him brushing off Mac's offer to help back while they were in the woods. "Hold up, none of this was your fault, Mac. You know that, right?"

One look at the uncertainty and guilt on Mac's face and Jack realized that he didn't.

"You don't," His brown eyes went wide as he realized he had caused even more damage than he first thought. "I meant _I_ was the one who needed to apologize, buddy," Jack clarified. "Not you. For snapping at you the way I did back there. You were just tryin' to help, I know that. That's what you do and usually, I can let you do your thing but I was hurtin' and worried we were being tracked and thinkin' I was gonna hold us up, get in even more trouble and let one of you kids get hurt because I couldn't push through the pain. So I shoved it all down and went dark. Eye on the target, end goal's all that matters, you know the drill. And I'm sorry for that. Because by doing it, I forgot for a minute that takin' care of you doesn't always mean I just have to get you home in one piece. Cause that don't do any good if I go breakin' that heart of yours in the process."

"You don't have to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong," Mac forced a small smile. "It just left me a little rattled. It was like we were back in those early days there for a minute, you know? When we first met? I've kinda been waiting for you to use that good arm and come at me swinging."

"That ain't funny, pal."

Mac hung his head again, blonde hair falling down to hide his eyes. "I wasn't joking."

Jack closed his eyes in a wince, letting his head fall back against the headrest of his plush seat, cursing whoever had designed it to be so comfortable. The move didn't even make a thud, the cushioning thick enough to prevent any jarring from radiating down to his aching arm, so he dropped it back again, harder. Still nothing. It wasn't fair, he deserved for it to hurt after what he had done. But he could worry about that later, Jack decided. He had a mess to clean up. He just hoped he wasn't too late.

"Hey, can I hug you?" He asked, voice gentle, not wanting to force anything to happen that Mac didn't want, no matter how badly he wanted to wrap his kid up and never let him go. Desperate to try and rebuild what he had unintentionally broken. "Is that okay?"

Mac looked up at him, startled. Whatever he had been expecting Jack to say, clearly that wasn't it. "I don't want you to hurt yourself worse,"

"Buddy _I_ hurt _you_ ," Jack shook his head, berating himself for not realizing how much his actions would upset Mac before it was too late. "And that's hurtin' me way more than this stupid arm ever could. I'm so sorry, kid. Please?"

The force of Mac throwing his arms around Jack's neck and burying his face in the comfort of the soft, worn, shirt, was nearly enough to drive the air out of Jack's lungs. Which was the reason, he would argue if anyone dared to ask, for the sudden need to blink back tears. He was so overwhelmed with relief that he nearly missed Mac's muffled voice. "What was that, hoss?"

"I said," Mac pulled back, a bashful smile curling the corners of his lips upwards. "That you don't have to keep apologizing. Not unless you're going to let me add my fair share of sorries into the conversation too."

"Don't count on me stoppin' any time soon," Jack reluctantly drew his unhindered arm away from Mac's shoulders. "Unlike you, I've actually got a reason for it."

"You've got a mangled up arm that says otherwise," Mac sighed, dropping his gaze to the bruises coloring Jack's arm, the colors all a stark contrast to the dark denim-clad thigh they were resting on.

"It ain't that bad," Jack assured and Mac sent him a disbelieving look. "Well, not as bad," He corrected, knowing that an outright lie would only result in making Mac feel like he was hiding something from him, and it wasn't a far stretch to go from that thought to assuming that he was hiding it because he didn't trust him and Jack had already unintentionally inflicted enough emotional turmoil for the day. "Now that we're not moving it's fine. Hardly feel it."

Mac smiled. "Sorry if I don't exactly believe you."

"Hey, now, I thought we agreed you were done with the apologies?" He teased. "Go ahead, check it out,” Jack offered with a nod, carefully extending his arm closer to Mac. “You’ve been itchin’ to for a couple hours now.”

“I don’t want to hurt you...”

“It’s already hurtin’, hoss,” Jack grinned. “Which is why you’re checking it out, remember?”

"Thought you said you could hardly feel it?" Mac reminded him of his earlier little white lie with a pointed stare.

"Well, I mean," Jack hedged, biting back a grin, relieved beyond measure to fall back into some semblance of their normal banter. "It ain't exactly numb or anything. But I think that's a good thing with broken bones, right?"

“You think it actually is broken?”

“Maybe,” Jack tilted his head back and forth, weighing the options. “Probably, yeah. Not as bad as some I’ve had though, so I guess we can count this one as a win.”

“It’s not a win when you get hurt,” Mac argued, carefully taking Jack’s outreached hand in his own and turning the arm over, eyes locked on Jack’s face for any sign of pain.

"It ain't gonna break, kid," Jack assured, a surprised laugh slipping out at his unintentional joke. "Well, no more than it already is. Stop worryin' so much about hurting me, I'm tough. See for yourself that it's alright so you can get that worried look out of your eyes."

"There isn't much I can tell just by looking at it," Mac admitted after a general assessment. "And I'm guessing you would rather I not start poking at it to see if anything starts shifting?"

"I'd prefer if we skipped that step and left it to the docs at Phoenix Med," Jack agreed. "But if that's what it's gonna take to make you feel better about this whole mess, go for it. Poke away."

"Nah," Mac let go of Jack's hand and stood up to reach one of the pillows stored in the overhead compartment. "It'll still be just as broken when we land as it is now, I think you've been through enough today. Just don't move it any more than you have to, okay?" Mac instructed as he carefully placed the pillow on Jack's lap and arranged his arm on it. "You need something, you tell me and I'll get it. You're resting until you get a cast put on. Maybe even after that too."

"I bet we could skip the Med visit if we wanted," Jack teased, settling back in his seat, content to let Mac take care of him. "Bet you could whip up the stuff to make one for me right here. Save some time, since you're so determined for me to rest, and go straight home when we land."

"Hypothetically, sure," Mac shrugged, knowing Jack was joking, intentionally setting him up to argue his suggestion, but he couldn't help the lists that automatically began forming of what he would need to do just that. Where to find each item on the plane and what he could swap out for ones that they didn’t have onboard. Ways to increase the strength of his improvised plaster to make it stand up to the higher quality, medical-grade one he was sure Jack was going to be sporting for the next several weeks. "But just because I can doesn't mean I'm going to."

"You know that works for me too, right?" Jack asked, suddenly going serious, leaving any trace of his earlier teasing behind.

"You mean you're not going to make your own paper mache cast, one-handed, while we're thirty-five thousand feet in the air?" Mac asked. "Good to know. I'll be sure to let Bozer know that the newspaper he's over there pretending to read is safe."

"No. Well, yeah, that too, if we had to go that route I'd leave all that stuff up to you, but seriously, dude. You ain't gonna chase me away. Even if I get mad sometimes. Not," he quickly raised a hand, protesting the rebuttal he could feel Mac preparing. "That I was ever mad about this to begin with. Or blamed you for any part of it. But if I do get upset with you, it's not gonna be enough to make me leave. Just because I can? It doesn't mean I'm going to."

"I know," Mac smiled, sitting back down, this time without questioning if he belonged in the spot next to Jack, if he had earned it. "It's just hard to remind myself of that sometimes."

"It’s not easy, keepin’ that big brain from bein’ so dumb. Which is why I'm stickin' around," Jack assured, slinging his good arm over Mac's shoulders and pulling him close. "To remind you."


End file.
